tomlinson



C. H. TOMLINSON.

CAB, AIR, AND ELECTRIC COUPLING. nrrucmoa man |ULY5.I91I- RENEWED mm. n. ma.

1,319,311. Patented Oct. 21,1919.

3 IBEETSSHEET 1.

em/7. 7mlmm C. H. TOMLINSON- CAB, MB, AND ELECTRIC COUPLING. Arrucmoa FILED wL'v 5. um. RENEWED mm. II. 1919.

1,319,31 1. Patented Oct, 21,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

31mm Charla? 22mm meme,

c. u. TOMLINSON. CAB, AIR, AND ELECTRIC COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, I911- IIENEVIED IMH- Ilp I919.

1,319,31 1. 4 Patented Oct. 21,1919.

3 BEETS-HINT 3.

I r I Sham/401 Gfzar'lmfl. fa'rnkham CHARLES H. TOMLINSON, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO.

GAR, AIR, AND ELECTRIC GOUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 21, 1919,

Application filed July 6, 1917, Serial No. 178,738. Renewed March 11, 1919. Serial lib/2823052.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Crmnnns H. TOMLIN- soN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mansfield, in the county of Richland and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car, Air, and Electric Couplings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a mechanical coupler which makes connections at the face of adjacent couplers for completing air and electrical connections therethrough.

The object of the invention is to provide a coupler of this kind in which the electric and air connections, as well as the mechanical coupling between the cars can be operated for connecting or disconnecting cars from the outside thereof, or that the same connections can be made and broken by an operator within one of the cars.

The invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of the parts.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a plan view of two couplers on adjacent car ends together with the operat in means therefor.

ig. 2 is a plan view of one of the cou ere.

i 3 is a front view of one of the coup ers.

Fig. 4 is a side view partly in section of one of the couplers. t

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view of one of the couplers; and

Fig.- 6 is another sectional view-of-one of the couplers.

The present invention is similar in many respects to applicants co-pendin-g a plication Serial No. 175,087, but difi'ers rom it in the construction of the mechanical coupler and the operatin means therefor.

In each coupler t ere is a drawbar 1 pivoted at some distance from the end of a car to be connected, having a mechanical coupler head 2 at its outer end with a contact face 3 with a gasket 4 set in the edge of the top and sides of the face to exclude water and dirt'when two coupler faces are abutting.

Extending from one side of each coupler is a coupling pin 5 beveled at its outer, end and having-a-- locking. notch Gin one side thereof, and at the other side of the cou ler is a recess 7 forreceivin a correspon in pin 5 of an adjacent coup or with a bevel edge 8 to assist in guiding and alining the adjacent couplers as they are brought to gether. Protruding from the face of each coupler are train line pipe connections 9 and 10 each pressed outwardly by a spring 11 which causes these pipe connections to make a fluid-tight joint with similar connections of the adjacent coupler. Also protruding from the face of the coupler is a combined air and electric connector 12 which is joined to a controlling pipe line 13 and to an electrical conductor 14. Also carried by each coupler and projectin from the face thereof are a plurality of cfiactrical connectors 15 and 16 for completing the electrical controlling and service circuits between the cars. One of these contacts, as 16, may be a bus line conductor.

Extending from each coupler are pipe lines 17 and 18 which are each provided with a valve-19 to control the connection through adjacent couplers, and connected to the valves 19 is a control switch 20 having a rotatable drum 21 for making and breakmg electrical connections, the conductors 22 of which are led to the switch through conduits 23 from the various contacts. The rotation of the drum 21 makes or breaks the electrical connections and simultaneously opens or closes the valves 19 of the pipe lines. An operating lever 24 is connected to the switch havin a handle 25 extending toward and oper'ab e from the side of the car, and also connected to-thelever by means of alink isa rod 27 of a piston movable in one-direction in a; cylinder 28 by fluid under pressureadm-itt'edzfrom a pipe line 29 and movable in the other direction by flui under pressurefrom a pipe line 30 connected to a suitable source of pressure supply and controlled by an electropneumatic device 31 to which the conductor 14 is connected.

In each coupler head just within the opening 7 is a latch 32 adapted to engage the locking notch 6 of the coupling pm 5 of the adjacent coupler. This latch 18 mounted on a shaft 83 and has an extending arm 34 b which it is rotatable to disengage the late from the coupling pin. A project1on 35 1s provided for limiting the movement 1n the outer direction, and connected to the arm is a rod 36 surrounded by a spring 87 m a casing 38 which tends to hold the latch 32 in engagingposition. A couphn in ma be inserted within the coupler hea t e late merely being moved aside against the tensior chanically connected a locking latch behind the recess of each coupler for engaging the notch in the coupling in, a springpressed arm tending to 1101 the latch in ocking position, a fluid pressure device connected in series with the pipeline connection for moving the latch out of locking position, and a manually operable valve in the pipe line for admitting fluid under pressure to the said fluid pressure devices of both couplers for operating them simultaneously to release the lockin latches.

7. The combination wit a pair of selfalining couplers each com rising a notched alining pin and recess an a pivoted looking latch, of separate air, electric, and a combined air and electric means projecting from the face of each coupler, an electric switch remote from the coupler for making and breaking circuits therethrough, fluid pressure valves connected to the switch and operated therewith for opening and closing the air lines through the coupler, means for operating the switch and said valves in both directions through the said combined air and electric connection, and a fluid pressure device for said locking latch comprising a piston, and a cylinder connected in series with the air line of the combined air and electric connection for operatin the latches of connected couplers simu taneously when the switch is operated to open the electric connections.

8. A pair of counterpart couplers, each comprising a head having recesses therein, each head having a notched pin adapted to engage the recess in the other head, a lock- .ing latch for each pin, a spring normally holding each latch in looking position, and fluid operable means connected with the latches for moving the latter to unlocking positions.

9. A car coupling device comprising two bar ends having engaging counterpart cou pling heads thereon, a notched pin attached to each head and extending into the other head, a spring-pressed latch in each head engagin the notch of the pin extending into suc head, and fluid operable means connected with said latches and adapted to be controlled from either car end.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, on this 30th day of June A. D. 1917.

7 CHARLES H. TOMLINSON.

Witnesses:

J. L. HOGAN, J. O. Pamox.

copies at this patent may be obtained tor five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. 0." 

